An urgent appeal to raise £25,000 to save the future of Swanage Jazz Festival in Dorset has been successful, so despite falling into financial difficulty, it will now go ahead in 2026.
The festival, one of the highlights of Swanage’s musical calendar for more than 30 years, made a loss of around £15,000 in 2025 after selling 150 fewer weekend stroller tickets than expected, which forced organisers to take short term loans to pay all of the performers.
The Mowlem has become a main venue for the jazz festival in recent years
Urgent plea for donations
Following the urgent plea in October 2025 to pay back the loans before the end of December 2025, donations from festival fans flooded in.
Now, much to the relief of the organisers, the £25,000 target has been reached and disaster has been averted.
Swanage Jazz Festival will now take place from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th July 2026 and planning for the festival has already started.
An afternoon spent listening to jazz in the marquee not far from the beach, is one of the big attractions of the festival
“The festival is so well loved and valued”
Festival director Paul Kelly said,
“We have been amazed and uplifted by the generosity of our supporters. We raised over half the £25,000 target in just one week and donations reached £20,000 in three weeks. We have now secured the full £25,000 we were seeking by our target date and are now back on track.
“We are now planning the 2026 festival programme and expect to be announcing that in early February 2026.
“It’s great to know that the festival is so well loved and valued and we are so much looking forward to bringing another batch of top quality jazz groups to our iconic spot in Swanage.”
Sandpit Field during the jazz festival can be a great place to relax when the sun shines
Attracted an estimated total audience of 41,000 people since 2019
Since the current team took over Swanage Jazz Festival in 2019, it has held five summer weekend events and brought some 300 jazz bands and almost 1,700 musicians to the town, which have attracted an estimated total audience of 41,000 people.
The festival’s main venues include The Mowlem on Shore Road and the festival marquees on Sandpit Field which overlook Swanage Bay.
Over the long weekend, the sound of jazz also drifts across the seaside town from open windows and pub gardens.
The Swanage festival, known as Jazz by the Sea, has an enviable reputation in the UK, and attracts visitors from far and wide, with people travelling from as far away as Cardiff and Yorkshire.
The Studio at The Mowlem now provides an additional venue for the festival
Further information
- More about Swanage Jazz Festival 2026
